Multiplex Antenna Matching Circuit, Wireless Communication Device, and Method for Coupling Multiple Signal Ports to an Antenna Via Cascaded Diplexers

ABSTRACT

The present application provides a multiplex antenna matching circuit and method for coupling multiple signal ports to an antenna via cascaded diplexers. The multiplex antenna includes a diplexer for coupling a single merged port associated with an antenna with two separated signal nodes. The multiplex antenna further including at least one cascaded sub-diplexer. Each cascaded sub-diplexer is associated with a respective one of the two separated signal nodes, where the cascaded sub-diplexer further couples the respective one of the two separated signal nodes with a respective two further separated signal ports.

FIELD OF THE APPLICATION

The present disclosure relates generally to multiplexing multiplesignals with a single antenna, and more particularly, to themultiplexing of multiple signals using multiple cascaded stages ofdiplexers.

BACKGROUND

Wireless communication devices are continuously integrating new andenhanced features and capabilities, that leverage an ability to remotelytransmit and receive data using wireless communication capabilities. Asthe features and capabilities are added and/or enhanced, there often isa need to communicate wirelessly an ever increasing amount ofinformation/data in order to support the added and/or enhanced featuresand capabilities of the device. However, increasing a device's abilityto communicate information/data wirelessly is complicated by a furtherdesire to limit the overall size of the device, which can sometimes makedesirable an ability to share some of the circuitry and structure, whichis used to support various forms of wireless communications.

Diplexers can facilitate the sharing of resources by allowing multipleseparate signals to be merged onto a single terminal through frequencydomain multiplexing. For example, a diplexer can help facilitate a pairof ports each respectively associated with its own transceiver beingcoupled to a common shared port that can be associated with a singleantenna. Diplexer are generally different than a combiner or splitter inthat each of the ports to be merged are often frequency selective, whichcan also serve to allow multiple separate signals to be merged whilehelping to reduce the potential for interference between the signalsbeing merged.

Some forms of wireless cellular communications, in order to increase therate of data that can be communicated, will allow a larger amount offrequency bandwidth to be utilized in support of the communicationthrough carrier aggregation, which can sometimes make use ofnon-contiguous frequency bands. The increase in available bandwidth forsupporting a particular communication will often allow for acorresponding increase in bitrate.

Conventionally, bands having carrier frequencies below about 800 MHz arereferred to as ultralow bands. Bands between 800 MHz and 1500 MHz areoften referred to as low bands. Bands between 1500 MHz and 2200 MHz areoften referred to as mid bands, and bands greater than 2200 MHz areoften referred to as high bands. Previously, cellular service providershave supported a number of two-downlink carrier aggregation bandcombinations, including simultaneous ultralow band or low band operationwith mid band or high band operation. Tunable antenna matching withdiplexing functionality including diplexers having a split at about 1500MHz, have been used to support at least some of these forms of carrieraggregation. However, cellular service providers are wanting to supportan even greater variety of two cellular band carrier aggregation, aswell as an aggregation of an even greater number of bands.

The present innovators have correspondingly recognized that tunablematching circuits with triplexing, quadruplexing and potentially evenhigher degrees of multiplexing functionality can be used to support agreater variety of carrier aggregation. This can also allow multipletypes of wireless communication to be merged for use with a singleantenna, such as the transmission and/or receipt of wireless signals insupport of cellular communications, as well as the transmission and/orreceipt of wireless signals in support of other forms of wirelesscommunication including a global positioning system, as well as variousWiFi type communication systems. The innovators have further recognizedthat the triplexing, quadruplexing and/or multiplexing functionality ina tunable matching circuit can be provided by using one or more sets ofcascaded diplexers.

SUMMARY

The present application provides a multiplex antenna matching circuit.The multiplex antenna matching circuit includes a diplexer for couplinga single merged port associated with an antenna with two separatedsignal nodes. The multiplex antenna matching circuit further includes atleast one cascaded sub-diplexer. Each cascaded sub-diplexer isassociated with a respective one of the two separated signal nodes,where the cascaded sub-diplexer further couples the respective one ofthe two separated signal nodes with a respective two further separatedsignal ports.

In at least one embodiment, each of the further separated signal portsand any separated signal node, which is not associated with one of thecascaded sub-diplexers is coupled to a respective transceiver.

The present application further provides a method for coupling multiplesignal ports to an antenna. The method includes coupling, via adiplexer, a single merged port associated with the antenna with twoseparated signal nodes. The method further includes coupling, via eachone of at least one cascaded sub-diplexer, a respective one of the twoseparated signal nodes with a respective two further separated signalports.

The present invention still further provides a wireless communicationdevice. The wireless communication device includes an antenna, and adiplexer for coupling a single merged port associated with the antennawith two separated signal nodes. The wireless communication devicefurther includes at least one cascaded sub-diplexer. Each cascadedsub-diplexer is associated with a respective one of the of the twoseparated signal nodes, where the cascaded sub-diplexer further couplesthe respective one of the two separated signal nodes with two furtherseparated signal ports. The wireless communication device still furtherincludes a plurality of transceivers including a respective transceiverassociated with each of the two further separated signal ports, and anyof the two separated signal nodes that are not associated with the atleast one cascaded sub-diplexer.

These and other features, and advantages of the present disclosure areevident from the following description of one or more preferredembodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of an exemplary wireless communication device;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a wireless communication device;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of circuitry in support of wireless radiofrequency communications in a wireless communication device;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an exemplary multiplex antenna matchingcircuit;

FIG. 5 is a more detailed circuit schematic of the exemplary multiplexantenna matching circuit, illustrated in FIG. 4; and

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram of a method for coupling multiple signal portsto an antenna.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT(S)

While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in variousforms, there is shown in the drawings and will hereinafter be describedpresently preferred embodiments with the understanding that the presentdisclosure is to be considered an exemplification and is not intended tolimit the invention to the specific embodiments illustrated. One skilledin the art will hopefully appreciate that the elements in the drawingsare illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily beendrawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements inthe drawings may be exaggerated relative to other elements with theintent to help improve understanding of the aspects of the embodimentsbeing illustrated and described.

FIG. 1 illustrates a front view of an exemplary wireless communicationdevice 100, such as a wireless communication device. While in theillustrated embodiment, the type of wireless communication device shownis a radio frequency cellular telephone, other types of devices thatinclude wireless radio frequency communication capabilities are alsorelevant to the present application. In other words, the presentapplication is generally applicable to wireless communication devicesbeyond the type being specifically shown. A couple of additionalexamples of suitable wireless communication devices that mayadditionally be relevant to the present application in the incorporationand management of a multiplex antenna matching circuit can include atablet, a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a netbook, a cordlesstelephone, a selective call receiver, a gaming device, a personaldigital assistant, as well as any other form of wireless communicationdevice that might be used to manage multiband communications and/orwireless communications involving one or more different communicationstandards. A few examples of different communication standards includeGlobal System for Mobile Communications (GSM) Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA),Long Term Evolution (LTE), Global Positioning System (GPS), Wi-Fi (IEEE802.11), as well as various other communication standards. In addition,the wireless communication device 100 may utilize a number of additionalvarious forms of communication including carrier aggregation andsimultaneous voice and data that concurrently enables the use ofsimultaneous signal propagation.

In the illustrated embodiment, the radio frequency cellular telephoneincludes a display 102 which covers a large portion of the front facing.In at least some instances, the display can incorporate a touchsensitive matrix, that can help facilitate the detection of one or moreuser inputs relative to at least some portions of the display, includingan interaction with visual elements being presented to the user via thedisplay 102. In some instances, the visual element could be an objectwith which the user can interact. In other instances, the visual elementcan form part of a visual representation of a keyboard including one ormore virtual keys and/or one or more buttons with which the user caninteract and/or select for a simulated actuation. In addition to one ormore virtual user actuatable buttons or keys, the device 100 can includeone or more physical user actuatable buttons 104. In the particularembodiment illustrated, the device has three such buttons located alongthe right side of the device.

The exemplary hand held electronic device, illustrated in FIG. 1,additionally includes a speaker 106 and a microphone 108 in support ofvoice communications. The speaker 106 may additionally support thereproduction of an audio signal, which could be a stand-alone signal,such as for use in the playing of music, or can be part of a multimediapresentation, such as for use in the playing of a movie, which mighthave at least an audio as well as a visual component. The speaker mayalso include the capability to also produce a vibratory effect. However,in some instances, the purposeful production of vibrational effects maybe associated with a separate element, not shown, which is internal tothe device. Generally, the speaker is located toward the top of thedevice, which corresponds to an orientation consistent with therespective portion of the device facing in an upward direction duringusage in support of a voice communication. In such an instance, thespeaker 106 might be intended to align with the ear of the user, and themicrophone 108 might be intended to align with the mouth of the user.Also located near the top of the device, in the illustrated embodiment,is a front facing camera 110. The wireless communication device willalso generally include one or more radio frequency transceivers, as wellas associated transmit and receive circuitry, including one or moreantennas that may be positioned internally relative to the device.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram 200 of a wireless communicationdevice 100, in accordance with at least one embodiment. In theillustrated embodiment, the wireless communication device 100 includes acontroller 202, which is adapted for managing at least some of theoperation of the device 100. In some embodiments, the controller 202could be implemented in the form of one or more processors 203, whichare adapted to execute one or more sets of pre-stored instructions 204,which may be used to form or implement the operation of at least part ofone or more controller modules including those used to manage wirelesscommunication. The one or more sets of pre-stored instructions 204 maybe stored in a storage element 206, which while shown as being separatefrom and coupled to the controller 202, may additionally oralternatively include some data storage capability for storing at leastsome of the prestored instructions for use with the controller 202, thatare integrated as part of the controller 202.

The storage element 206 could include one or more forms of volatileand/or non-volatile memory, including conventional ROM, EPROM, RAM, orEEPROM. The possible additional data storage capabilities may alsoinclude one or more forms of auxiliary storage, which is either fixed orremovable, such as a hard drive, a floppy drive, or a memory stick. Oneskilled in the art will still further appreciate that still otherfurther forms of storage elements could be used without departing fromthe teachings of the present disclosure. In the same or other instances,the controller 202 may additionally or alternatively incorporate statemachines and/or logic circuitry, which can be used to implement at leastpartially, some of the modules and/or functionality associated with thecontroller 202.

In the illustrated embodiment, the device further includes one or moretransceivers 208, which are coupled to the controller 202 and whichserve to manage the external communication of data including theirwireless communication using one or more forms of communications. Insuch an instance, the transceivers will generally be coupled to anantenna 210 via which the wireless communication signals will beradiated and received. For example, the one or more transceivers 208might include a receiver for supporting communications with a globalpositioning system, one or more transceivers for supporting cellularradio frequency communications, a transceiver for supporting Bluetooth®type communications, as well as a transceiver for supporting Wi-Fi® typecommunications. Transceivers for other forms of communication areadditionally and/or alternatively possible. While in some instances eachtransceiver can be associated with a separate antenna, it is envisionedthat in the present instance an antenna may be able to support multipletransceivers and/or multiple forms of communication. In the presentinstance, the one or more transceivers 208 are coupled to an antenna 210via a multiplex antenna matching circuit 212, which can help tofacilitate the multiple transceivers 208 simultaneously interacting witha common antenna 210. While a single antenna is illustrated asinteracting with multiple transceivers, it is possible that some of theone or more transceivers could be associated with its own or a differentantenna. In other word, the present embodiment does not preclude sometransceivers from operating with alternative additional antennas, butthe multiplex antenna matching circuit 212 can help to assist multipletransceivers 208 in their separate and/or simultaneous operation with asingle common antenna 210.

More specifically, the multiplex antenna matching circuit 212 isintended to allow multiple ports, in this case each generally beingassociated with respective transceivers, to be merged with a singleshared port, which in the present instance is coupled to an antenna. Themultiplex antenna matching circuit 212 can further serve to helpassociate various disparate sets of frequencies with each of themultiple ports to be merged, such that the transceivers cansimultaneously operate while reducing the risk that signals associatedwith a particular transceiver will negatively impact signals intendedfor use with another transceiver. The multiplex antenna matching circuit212 can further help the transceivers to better match the impedance ofthe antenna, so as to more effectively assist in the transfer of powerassociated with a desired signal between a particular transceiver andthe antenna.

In the illustrated embodiment, the device 100 can additionally includeuser interface circuitry 214, some of which can be associated withproducing an output 216 to be perceived by the user, and some of whichcan be associated with detecting an input 218 from the user. Forexample, the user interface circuitry 214 can include a display 102adapted for producing a visually perceptible output, which may furthersupport a touch sensitive array for receiving an input from the user.The user interface circuitry may also include a speaker 106 forproducing an audio output, and a microphone 108 for receiving an audioinput. The user interface output 216 could further include a vibrationalelement. The user interface input 218 could further include one or moreuser actuatable switches 104, one or more sensors, as well as one ormore cameras 110. Still further alternative and additional forms of userinterface elements may be possible.

FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram 300 of circuitry in support ofwireless radio frequency communications in a wireless communicationdevice. In the illustrated embodiment, the circuitry includes threetransceivers 308, each of which is coupled to the multiplex antennamatching circuit 312, and an antenna 310, which is similarly coupled tothe multiplex antenna matching circuit 312. More specifically, themultiplex antenna matching circuit 312 merges the multiple portsassociated with each of the transceivers 308 with the port associatedwith the antenna 310.

The multiplex antenna matching circuit 312 has a set of cascadeddiplexers, including a diplexer 320 for coupling a single merged port322 associated with an antenna 310 with two separated signal nodes 324and 326. The multiplex antenna matching circuit 312 additionallyincludes at least one cascaded sub-diplexer 328. Each cascadedsub-diplexer 328 is associated with a respective one 324 of the twoseparated signal nodes 324 and 326, where the cascaded sub-diplexer 328further couples the respective one 324 of the two separated signal nodeswith two further separated signal ports 330 and 332. Each of the furtherseparated signal ports 330 and 332, and any separated signal node 326,which is not associated with one of the cascaded sub-diplexers 328, iscoupled to a respective transceiver 308. While the use of a singlesub-diplexer 328 cascaded with a single diplexer 320 is illustrated anddiscussed to accommodate a multiplex antenna matching circuit 312 thatcan couple three transceivers 308 to an antenna 310, a secondsub-diplexer 334, shown in dashed lines, could be used to extend themultiplex antenna matching circuit 312 to accommodate a still furthertransceiver 336.

FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram 400 of an exemplary multiplex antennamatching circuit 312. In the illustrated embodiment, the multiplexantenna matching circuit includes a fixed diplexer 438, and a cascadedtunable sub-diplexer 440. The tunable sub-diplexer 440 includes acombiner/splitter 442, which facilitates the coupling of two furtherseparated signal ports 430 and 432 with one 424 of the two separatedsignal nodes 424 and 426 of the fixed diplexer 438. In the illustratedembodiment, each of the two further separated signal ports 430 and 432are coupled to the combiner/splitter 442 via a corresponding tunablematching circuit 444 and 446. The separated signal node 426, which isnot associated with a cascaded tunable sub-diplexer 440 is coupled to aport 448 via a further tunable matching circuit 450. Each tunablematching circuit 444, 446 and 450 helps to isolate a particularfrequency range of interest relative to the signals present at thesingle merged port 422.

FIG. 5 illustrates a more detailed circuit schematic 500 of theexemplary multiplex antenna matching circuit, illustrated in FIG. 4. Themore detailed exemplary multiplex antenna matching circuit includes afixed diplexer 538 and a cascaded tunable sub-diplexer 540. The fixeddiplexer 538 is adapted for coupling a single merged port 522 with twoseparated signal nodes 524 and 526. The fixed diplexer in theillustrated embodiment is coupled to the single merged port 522 via animpedance matching circuit 552. The impedance matching circuit 552includes a series capacitor 554 via which the single merged port 522 iscoupled to the fixed diplexer 538. The impedance matching circuit 552further includes on the diplexer side of series capacitor 554 aninductor 556 through which the diplexer side of the series capacitor iscoupled to ground. A further inductor 558 couples the single merged portside of the series capacitor 554 to a cap sense terminal 560 whichenables sensing of capacitive loading of the antenna connected to port522. The impedance matching circuit 552 helps to match the impedance ofan antenna coupled to the single merged port 522 with the rest of themultiplex antenna matching circuit.

The fixed diplexer includes respective band pass filters 562 and 564 viawhich the single merged port 522 is coupled to each of the two separatedsignal nodes 524 and 526. Each of the respective band pass filters 562and 564 include a series band reject circuit including a parallelcombination of a capacitor 566 and an inductor 568, which togethercouple the single merged port 522 to a respective one of the twoseparated signal nodes 524 and 526 through a series coupling. Each ofthe respective band pass filters 562 and 564 additionally include ashunt band pass circuit including a parallel combination of a capacitor570 and inductor 572, which together couple a respective one of the twoseparated signal nodes 524 and 526 to ground. Dependent upon the valuesselected for each of the capacitors and inductors forming the bandreject circuits and the band pass circuits, which in turn form each ofthe band pass filters, a different set of frequencies will be allowed topass between the single merged port 522 and each of the two separatedsignal nodes 524 and 526. In at least one embodiment, one of the bandpass filters 562 is intended to allow a higher band of signals to pass,and the other one of the band pass filters 564 is intended to allow alower band of signals to pass. In at least one instance, the higher bandof signals includes those frequencies greater than 1500 MHz, and thelower band of signals includes those frequencies less than 1500 MHz.

In the illustrated embodiment, a tunable sub-diplexer 540 is coupled tothe separated signal node 524, which is intended to pass a higher bandof signals. The tunable sub-diplexer 540 couples a respective one of theseparated signal nodes 524 to two further separated signal ports 530 and532 via respective tunable matching circuits 544 and 546, which eachinclude a tunable band pass filter. Each of the respective tunable bandpass filters include a series band reject circuit including a parallelcombination of a tunable capacitor 574 and an inductor 576, whichtogether couple the separated signal node 524 to a respective one of thetwo further separated signal ports 530 and 532 through a series couplingwith an additional series inductor 578 and series capacitor 580. Each ofthe respective tunable band pass filters additionally include a shuntband pass circuit including a parallel combination of a capacitor 582and an inductor 584, which together couple a respective one of the twofurther separated signal ports 530 and 532 to ground through the seriescapacitor 580. The tunable capacitor 574 can be implemented using one ormore of various technologies including devices based uponMicro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS), Barium Strontium Titanate(BST), and solid state FET switches built on insulated CMOS wafers(SOI/SOS). In at least one embodiment, tunable capacitors of the typeincluding Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) are used, which allows thecapacitance to vary through the application of a voltage to the device.

Dependent upon the values selected for each of the capacitors andinductors forming the band reject circuits and the band pass circuitswhich are part of the band pass filters included as part of the tunablematching circuits 544 and 546 of the cascaded sub-diplexer 540, adifferent set of frequencies will be allowed to pass between theseparated signal node 524, and the two further separated signal ports530 and 532. In at least one embodiment, one of the tunable matchingcircuits 544 is intended to allow a selectable mid band range of signalsto pass, and the other one of the tunable matching circuits 532 isintended to allow a selectable high band range of signals to pass. Theparticular value of the tunable capacitors may be controlled by one ofthe processors and/or one of the transceivers.

In the illustrated embodiment, a tunable matching circuit 550 is coupledto the separated signal node 526, which is intended to pass a lower bandof signals. The tunable matching circuit 550 includes a parallelcombination of a capacitor 586 and an inductor 588, which togethercouple the separated signal node 526 to a port 548 through a seriescoupling with an additional series inductor 590 and a tunable seriescapacitor 592. The tunable matching circuit 550 further includes aparallel combination of a capacitor 594 and an inductor 596, whichtogether couple port 548 to ground through the series inductor 590. Thetunable matching circuit 550 is intended to pass a selectable low orultra low band range of signals to pass, which is dependent upon theparticular value selected for the tunable capacitor 592. In at least oneembodiment, a tunable capacitor of the type including Barium StrontiumTitanate (BST) is used.

The inductor and capacitor values of the multiplex antenna matchingcircuit 500 are designed to transform the impedance of the antenna 310to the impedance of the transceivers 308. More specifically, the designis such that the impedance at separated signal ports 548, 530, 532 ismore closely equal to the transceiver reference impedance, typically 50Ohms, and the impedance at the single merged port 522 is more closelyequal to the complex conjugate of the antenna 310 impedance, which isthe impedance needed to maximize the transfer of power into and out ofthe antenna 310. The instantaneous bandwidth within which the impedancecan be transformed to the transceiver reference impedance depends on themismatch between the antenna impedance and the transceiver referenceimpedance. For small antennas, the mismatch tends to be large, resultingin low instantaneous antenna bandwidth. The tunable capacitors 574, 592are employed to adjust the matching circuit thereby enabling the antennato be matched over a range of frequency bands greater than theinstantaneous bandwidth.

In this way various combinations of low/ultralow with mid and high bandsignals can be used together with a shared antenna. Various filteringpresent in the diplexers and cascaded sub-diplexers including tunablematching circuits enables signals associated with any one of the ports530, 532 and 548 to have a reduced effect on the other ports. While thepresent disclosure describes the use of a single cascaded sub-diplexer,it is envisioned that further cascaded sub-diplexers could be used tosupport the merging of still further additional ports including thepossibility that further cascaded layers could be used to expand evenfurther the degree of multiplexing provided through the arrangement ofvarious diplexers. This will allow the simultaneous use with aparticular shared antenna of multiple bands of frequencies as part of acarrier aggregation, as well as the possibility that the same narrowbandantenna could also be used with other types of wireless communication,such as GPS, Wi-Fi, and potentially other types of communications withthe particular bands of interest being at least somewhat selectable.

FIG. 6 illustrates a flow diagram 600 of a method for coupling multiplesignal ports to an antenna. The method includes coupling 602, via adiplexer, a single merged port associated with the antenna with twoseparated signal nodes. The method further includes coupling 604, viaeach one of at least one cascaded sub-diplexer, a respective one of thetwo separated signal nodes with a respective two further separatedsignal ports. In some instances, the method further provides forcoupling 606 each of the two further separated signal ports and any oneof the two separated signal nodes that is not associated with one of theat least one cascaded sub-diplexer to a respective signal source, suchas a transceiver.

While the preferred embodiments have been illustrated and described, itis to be understood that the invention is not so limited. Numerousmodifications, changes, variations, substitutions and equivalents willoccur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A multiplex antenna matching circuit comprising:a diplexer for coupling a single merged port associated with an antennawith two separated signal nodes; and at least one cascaded sub-diplexer,each cascaded sub-diplexer associated with a respective one of the twoseparated signal nodes, where the cascaded sub-diplexer further couplesthe respective one of the two separated signal nodes with a respectivetwo further separated signal ports.
 2. A multiplex antenna matchingcircuit in accordance with claim 1, wherein the two separated signalnodes include a higher signal node and a lower signal node.
 3. Amultiplex antenna matching circuit in accordance with claim 2, whereinthe lower signal node is a lower band signal port.
 4. A multiplexantenna matching circuit in accordance with claim 1, wherein thediplexer couples the single merged port to each of the respectiveseparated signal nodes via a band pass filter, where the separatedsignal nodes include a higher signal node coupled to the single mergedport via a band pass filter which is tuned for passing higher bandsignals, and where the separated signal nodes include a lower signalnode coupled to the single merged port via a band pass filter which istuned for passing lower band signals.
 5. A multiplex antenna matchingcircuit in accordance with claim 4, wherein the band pass filter whichis tuned for passing higher band signals, and the band pass filter whichis tuned for passing lower band signals have their frequencies selectedso as to pass signals in each of the higher band and lower band tosupport carrier aggregation including both a lower signal band componentand a higher signal band component.
 6. A multiplex antenna matchingcircuit in accordance with claim 4, wherein each of the band pass filterwhich are alternatively tuned for passing higher band signals and forpassing lower band signals each include a band reject circuit and a bandpass circuit.
 7. A multiplex antenna matching circuit in accordance withclaim 1, wherein the two further separated signal ports include a midband signal port and a high band signal port.
 8. A multiplex antennamatching circuit in accordance with claim 1, wherein one of the at leastone cascaded sub-diplexer couples one of the two separated signal nodesto two further separated signal ports via a band pass filter, where thetwo further separated signal ports include a mid band signal portcoupled to the one of the two separated signal nodes via a band passfilter which is tuned for passing mid band signals, and where the twofurther separated signal ports include a high band signal port coupledto the one of the two separated signal nodes via a band pass filterwhich is tuned for passing high band signals.
 9. A multiplex antennamatching circuit in accordance with claim 8, wherein the band passfilter which is tuned for passing mid band signals, and the band passfilter which is tuned for passing high band signals have theirfrequencies selected so as to pass signals in each of the mid band andhigh band to support carrier aggregation including both a mid signalband component and a high signal band component.
 10. A multiplex antennamatching circuit in accordance with claim 9, wherein only one of the twoseparated signal nodes is associated with a cascaded sub-diplexer, andthe separated signal node that is not associated with a cascadedsub-diplexer is a lower band signal port, which is coupled to the singlemerged port via a band pass filter that is tuned for passing lower bandsignals, wherein the band pass filter that is tuned for passing lowerband signals has its frequency selected so as to pass signals in thelower band in conjunction with the signals being passed in each of themid band and the high band for supporting carrier aggregation includingat least two of a lower signal band component, the mid signal bandcomponent, and the high signal band component.
 11. A multiplex antennamatching circuit in accordance with claim 1, wherein the two furtherseparated signal ports include a global positioning system signal portand a higher band signal port.
 12. A multiplex antenna matching circuitin accordance with claim 1, wherein each of the further separated signalports and any separated signal node, which is not associated with one ofthe cascaded sub-diplexers, is coupled to a respective transceiver. 13.A multiplex antenna matching circuit in accordance with claim 1, whereinthe single merged port includes an impedance matching circuit.
 14. Amultiplex antenna matching circuit in accordance with claim 1, whereinthe antenna is a shared narrow band antenna.
 15. A multiplex antennamatching circuit in accordance with claim 1, which is incorporated aspart of a wireless communication device.
 16. A multiplex antennamatching circuit in accordance with claim 1, wherein the wirelesscommunication device is a radio frequency cellular telephone.
 17. Amethod for coupling multiple signal ports to an antenna, the methodcomprising: coupling, via a diplexer, a single merged port associatedwith the antenna with two separated signal nodes; and coupling, via eachone of at least one cascaded sub-diplexer, a respective one of the twoseparated signal nodes with a respective two further separated signalports.
 18. A method in accordance with claim 17, wherein each of the twofurther separated signal ports and any one of the two separated signalnodes that is not associated with one of the at least one cascadedsub-diplexer is coupled to a respective signal source.
 19. A method inaccordance with claim 18, wherein each of the respective signal sourcesis a transceiver.
 20. A wireless communication device comprising: anantenna; a diplexer for coupling a single merged port associated withthe antenna with two separated signal nodes; at least one cascadedsub-diplexer, each cascaded sub-diplexer associated with a respectiveone of the of the two separated signal nodes, where the cascadedsub-diplexer further couples the respective one of the two separatedsignal nodes with two further separated signal ports; and a plurality oftransceivers including a respective transceiver associated with each ofthe two further separated signal ports, and any of the two separatedsignal nodes that are not associated with the at least one cascadedsub-diplexer.